Cindy Wooden

After an octogenarian priest was swindled out of more than $450,000 over a two-year period and threatened when he stopped giving the "family" money, the Diocese of Padua, Italy, launched a continuing formation program for priests focused on financial accountability and avoiding scams.

The new laws include many dealing with clerical sexual abuse and the obligation of bishops and religious superiors to act when allegations are made, but also include the "attempted ordination of women" and acts committed by priests against the sanctity of the Eucharist and against the sacrament of penance.

Celebrating a Mass for peace in Myanmar, Pope Francis urged the country's Catholics to "keep the faith" and focus on helping one another.

John Kerry, the U.S. special envoy for climate, met privately with Pope Francis May 15, the day after he gave a keynote address at a closed-door meeting of the Pontifical Academies for Sciences and Social Sciences.

Four former students at the minor seminary located in the Vatican testified May 12 at the ongoing trial of Fr. Gabriele Martinelli, who is accused of sexually abusing a younger student at the St. Pius X Pre-Seminary.

Pope Francis' new document Antiquum Ministerium does not mention any beatified or canonized lay catechists by name, but many of the communities they served continue to honor them and keep their memories alive.

Holding a general audience with visitors and pilgrims present for the first time in more than six months, Pope Francis said he was very pleased to see people "face to face."

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has urged the U.S. bishops to proceed with caution in their discussions about formulating a national policy "to address the situation of Catholics in public office who support legislation allowing abortion, euthanasia or other moral evils."

An 1822 Vatican law described the new smallpox vaccine as a gift "put in place by divine providence" as a sign of God's "paternal love to save his children."

As countries become more culturally and ethnically diverse, their Catholic communities become more "catholic" and their societies can increasingly reflect the fact that all people are brothers and sisters, Pope Francis said.

The sainthood causes of seven men and women — including the hermit Blessed Charles de Foucauld and the Indian martyr Devasahayam Pillai — cleared their final hurdle May 3.

Under the gaze of a seventh-century icon of Mary, Pope Francis launched a monthlong, global recitation of the rosary, pleading for Mary's intercession for the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The priesthood "is not a career, it is a service," Pope Francis told nine men just before ordaining them to the priesthood for the Diocese of Rome.

Celebrating his name day, the feast of St. George, Pope Francis was serenaded by hundreds of Rome's most vulnerable residents and the people who assist them.

Christians and Muslims share a conviction that God calls them to be "witnesses, restorers and builders of hope" both in this life and for the life to come, said the leaders of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.

Increasing vocations to the priesthood, improving the way laypeople and priests work together and ensuring that service, not power, motivates the request for ordination are all possible outcomes of a major symposium being planned by the Vatican in February 2022.

Australian Cardinal Edward I. Cassidy, a longtime Vatican diplomat and former president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, died April 10 at the age of 96 in Newcastle, Australia.

Like the disciples, who experienced Jesus' divine mercy after the resurrection, all Christians are called to become missionaries, sharing the Gospel of God's love and mercy with others, Pope Francis said.

Faith is a gift that is never imposed on anyone but must be accepted with an open heart, Pope Francis wrote to young people.

German and Swiss bishops who knew and worked with Fr. Hans Küng described him as a man who loved the Catholic Church, even though the theologian sometimes went beyond the limits of Catholic doctrine.